POULTRY EXPERIMENTS. II3 



During the months when they were not laying- so heavily the 

 consumption of mash was but about four pounds and the 

 demands for shell, bone and grit were' less. It will be noticed 

 that the proportion of wheat fed was less than in any former 

 ration we have fed and that the cracked corn was increased, thus 

 cheapening the ration. 



The average yields of the 550 hens during March was 20.4 

 eggs per bird. The whole number of eggs laid by them during 

 the six months from November ist to April 30 was 42,126, an 

 average of "](> per bird. It must be borne in mind that these 

 birds were not selected but were the whole number of chickens 

 reared last year. 



Feeding the Chickens. 



We used to bake bread* for the young chicks but have aban- 

 doned the practice, not because there is anything better for them, 

 but we believe the work involved in preparing it is not necessary. 



Infertile eggs are boiled for half an hour and then ground in 

 an ordinary meat chopper, shells included, and mixed with about 

 six times their bulk of rolled oats, by rubbing both together, 

 enough to break the (tg^ into small pieces. This mixture is the 

 feed for two or three days until the little things have learned 

 how to eat. It is fed sparingly, in the litter and sand on the 

 brooder floor. 



About the third day we commence to feed a mixture of hard, 

 fine broken grains, i. e., cracked corn, wheat, millet and pinhead 

 oats as soon as the birds can see to eat in the mornings. This is 

 fed in the litter, being careful to limit the quantity so they shall 

 be hungry at ten o'clock. We have used several of the prepared 

 dry chick foods and like them when they are made of good clean 

 grains and do not contain grit. The grit and charcoal can be 

 supplied at less cost and must be freely provided. 



At ten o'clock the rolled oats and t^^ mixture is fed, in tin 

 plates, with low rims. After they have had the food before them 

 five minutes the dishes are removed and they have nothing to 

 lunch on except a little of the fine broken grain which they 



* Bulletin 100 this station, page 8. 



